Box Office: ‘Fate of the Furious’ Racing Toward $110 Million U.S. Opening

The tentpole is racing toward $101 million to $110 million this weekend, early estimates showed Friday. If projections hold, the eighth installment in the franchise could have the second-highest launch in “Fast” history. The movie is set to earn $46 million to $50 million by Friday end of day.

“Fate of the Furious,” however, won’t reach the heights “Furious 7” climbed. The film, which launched two years after the death of star Paul Walker, opened to nearly $147.2 million, and went on to haul $353 million domestically and $1.5 billion worldwide.

“Fate of the Furious” is playing in 4,310 locations on Friday — the widest opening ever for an April release. The film, directed by F. Gary Gray, is being released in 63 territories, in addition to the U.S. and Canada.

Holdovers “The Boss Baby” and “Beauty and the Beast” will battle for the title of runner-up in the U.S., with about $15 million each. “Beauty and the Beast” had taken in $438 million domestically and became the 29th title to cross the $1 billion worldwide mark on Wednesday.

Open Road’s animated family film “Spark: A Space Tail” also opens on Friday at 353 sites.

“Fate of the Furious” — estimated to cost $250 million — is also off to a stellar start at the international box office, grossing $58.4 million from 41 markets on Thursday. The figure marks Universal’s highest grossing Thursday ever — by a large margin. With $43 million, “Furious 7” held the previous Thursday record.

The early international total, including Wednesday and Thursday openings, stands at $82.2 million. The movie had No. 1 openings in every territory where it was released. It had the biggest opening day of all time in 11 markets: Argentina, Colombia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Israel, Lebanon, Malaysia, Peru, Portugal, and U.A.E. It experienced the top opening of “The Fast and the Furious” franchise in 25 countries, including Germany, Italy, Korea, and Mexico. Additionally, it had Universal’s largest opening day of all time in 14 areas, including Argentina, Colombia, Germany, and Mexico.

The movie is already seeing a record-breaking run in China, where it kicked off with $64 million on Friday — the highest-grossing opening day of all time in the Middle Kingdom.